I don't think of you as a boozehound at all.  I prefer to think of you as a person with occasional bouts of madness interrupted by flashes of being interesting.  You are, at least, probably the least predictable person in this group.  That, I find interesting. I'm glad of that much, although I'm not sure which is worse, being accused of being a heavy drinker or being accused of being a madman. As it turns out, I am neither, although I'd find that a strange thing to have to say to anyone who knows me at all.

He might first ask you which kind if he doesn't know your usual, but he definitely won't be thinking you want him to pull you a pint. Ask that same well-trained barman for a pint of booze and he'd move to the tap until you specified what kind of beer.  He isn't going to move to the optic when you ask for a pint of booze .  

lettuce. I use wheat bread too, but I can't imagine why I'd want a _layer_ of lettuce inside. Lettuce and peanuts? Wow. They don't seem to fit. It'd be like putting whipped cream on a hot dog, as Jackie Gleason used to say. Well but it's very NOW, dont-cha know. Unintuitive food combinations for the sake of unintuitive food combinations are just the THING, dont-cha know. It's convergence, ain't it? Or fusion, or something real real now like that, ain't it? My son works for a fancy caterer and they did a wedding today (with French service. My son explained that that means that the waiters have to feed the guests more or less as if the guests were babies). The food consumption commenced after the bride and groom got videoed next to the phony electric waterfall, and the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom lit the unity candle and took their seats, and the band ( The Mellow Tones ) began to play a medley of Barry Manilow favorites. Here are some of the dishes. I'm not making any of this up. < Crispy white pizza squares topped with fresh mozzarella, imported Roquefort and diced ripe mango, baked and served warm. < Crispy gaufrette potatoes topped with peppercorn-seared tuna, wasabi mustard and fresh cilantro. < Morsels of lamb marinated in soy, peanut butter, ginger, cumin, coriander, and lemon, skewered, grilled, and presented with an Indonesian peanut sauce. < Partially deboned baby spring chicken stuffed with a sauté of forest mushrooms and sweet pearl onions, oven roasted and served with a pan reduction sauce over fresh leaf spinach sautéed with candied lemon rind, orange rind and shallots. ======================== So here's the thing. Tomorrow my in-laws are coming over and we were *gonna* have tater salad and mack-'n'cheese. But now I'm a-thinkin' that to make it very oh-so-21st-century, I'm gonna flick some gobs of peanut butter and lemon peels over everything. They're going to love it. Even though they're from rural Pennsyltucky. P. Schultz

You bet. I also put the mixture on celery sticks at times, sprinkled with some paprika so they look nicer. Interesting about the bland bread: I use the same kind. You don't want the taste of decent bread interfering with the subtle taste of cream cheese and green olives. Same goes for cucumber sandwiches. In defense of sliced white bread...  What bread is best depends on the application.  I can't imagine peanut butter on anything but sliced white bread... But then you've mixed *two* things that stick to the roof of the mouth!  I like my peanut butter on wheat bread, with a _layer_ of lettuce. I use wheat bread too, but I can't imagine why I'd want a _layer_ of lettuce inside. Lettuce and peanuts? Wow. They don't seem to fit. It'd be like putting whipped cream on a hot dog, as Jackie Gleason used to say. Learned it from my father as a kid. Also, spread peanut butter in the groove of a stalk of celery. Yummm! It's something about the cold crispness of the lettuce/celery combined with the smoothness of the pb.

I was surprised to notice the other day that the Clinique counter in the Army & Navy is staffed by young men. Your army & navy stores sell cosmetics?  Must be popular with the Danish Venture Scouts. This is a significant north/south division.  And by south , I mean the Home Counties. To me, an Army & Navy is a type of shop which sells camping equipment, outdoor clothing, boots, etc.  Like a less tidy Millets.   I think the southern Army & Navy is a department store.

Subject: Re: Cheese dip From: david56 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This is a significant north/south division.  And by south , I mean the Home Counties. How nice to hear that distinction. Coming from Cornwall, I'm frustrated by the north-south divide business, as we have as little in common with the south east as does the north. For me the main divisions are North, Midlands, East Anglia, South East, and South West. Of course, there are many overlaps, but those divisions make more sense to me than  North and South alone. I'm uneasy about the term Home Counties , though, which I don't believe is greatly used in the real world. It reeks of the idea that the area is more genteel than anywhere else. It may be, on the whole; but  factory workers are made redundant there the same as everywhere else. And there are little towns south of Manchester with the highest standard of living in Britain. Peasemarch.